The Week - USA (2021-03-20)

Health & Science NEWS 21^

A magnetic catastrophe

About 42,000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic

poles flipped. Previous research has sug-

gested that this event—which happens every

now and then, cosmically speaking—had

little impact. But a new study suggests that

this switch in fact caused drastic environ-

mental and climatic changes around the

planet, reports The Guardian (U.K.). Earth’s

magnetic field acts as a shield against

damaging solar radiation. When the poles

switch or wobble, that protection weakens,

leaving the planet more exposed to high-

energy particles. Using radiocarbon analysis

on the fossilized remains of kauri trees—

which can live for thousands of years—from

New Zealand, researchers were able to

pinpoint the specific 800-year period when

the magnetic flip occurred. The researchers

then looked at archaeological and climate

records from that period and found that

numerous environmental changes took

place around the world: tropical rain belts

shifted dramatically; an ice sheet started

to stretch across North America; and a

severe drought in Australia led to a die-off

of megafauna. Co-author Chris Turney,

from the University of New South Wales,

says that the rise in the use of caves by our

ancestors around this time may be down

to the fact that they offered shelter from

the harsh conditions outside. “It probably

would have seemed like the end of days.”

Airport noise and heart problems

A growing body of research suggests that

aircraft and traffic noise can increase risk

for heart problems, reports The Atlantic.

One study found that people living near

Germany’s Frankfurt Airport had a 7 per-

cent higher chance of stroke than those in

similar but quieter neighborhoods. Another

analysis found that nighttime cardiovascu-

lar deaths were significantly higher among

people living near Zurich’s airport after

airplane flyovers. Researchers have observed

that even when we’re asleep, a loud sound

causes the brain to activate a stress response:

blood pressure rises, hormones flood the

body, some arteries constrict and others

dilate. This stress response can inflame the

endothelium, the inner lining of arteries

and blood vessels, which in turn interferes

with blood flow and other crucial functions.

Research has shown that the endothelium is

impaired after just a few nights of exposure

to airplane noise. Mathias Basner, president

of the International Commission on the

Biological Effects of Noise, says further

research is needed into this “silent killer.”

Sickle-cell trial halted

In a major blow for people with sickle-

cell disease, a trial of a breakthrough gene

therapy has been halted after two study

participants developed cancer. One was diag-

nosed with a condition that often leads to

leukemia; the other developed acute myeloid

leukemia. Sickle-cell patients—most of

whom are African- American—are already at

heightened risk for the cancer. But scientists

say the odds of two people in a small trial

developing such conditions are minimal.

They have already determined that the first

patient’s cancer was caused by busulfan, a

powerful drug used to make space in bone

marrow for the genetically modified cells.

They are now investigating whether the sec-

ond cancer had the same cause. If it did, the

treatment isn’t necessarily doomed— sickle

cell is a degenerative disease, so the potential

rewards of gene therapy may outweigh the

risks. But the setback is still a disappoint-

ment. “It feels like the sickle-cell disease

community just can never get a break,” says

Melissa Frei-Jones, from the University of

Texas School of Medicine in San Antonio.

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An artist’s impression of Earth’s magnetosphere

Two homegrown variants of the coronavi-

rus are rapidly spreading in California and

the New York City metro area, raising fears

among scientists that the strains could

cause a nationwide spike in infections and

deaths. On the West Coast, new research

suggests that the California variant is

more contagious and more likely to cause

sickness and death than the previously

dominant form of Covid-19, reports the Los

Angeles Times. It also appears more resis-

tant to antibodies generated by a Covid-19

vaccine or prior infection. While the strain

wasn’t the main driver of California’s win-

ter surge in infections and fatalities, it rose

from complete obscurity to accounting

for 50 percent of examined coronavirus

samples in just five months. Meanwhile,

studies found that the New York variant—

which first appeared in November—now

accounts for 1 in 4 viral samples collected

in the city. It, too, appears to be more dan-

gerous than earlier strains, with infected

patients more likely to be hospitalized, and

more resistant to vaccines. The emergence

of these new variants comes as health offi-

cials were already bracing for the impact

of the highly infectious U.K. strain, which

is expected to become the dominant U.S.

strain this month. “The devil is already

here,” says infectious-disease researcher

Charles Chiu, from the University of

California, San Francisco. “I wish it were

different. But the science is the science.”

Worries over new U.S. Covid variants

A coronavirus patient in Fullerton, Calif.

Scientists have for the

first time cloned a U.S.

endangered species—

using genes from an ani-

mal that died more than

20 years ago. Elizabeth

Ann, a black-footed ferret,

was born last December

in Fort Collins, Colo. Her

species has distinctive

dark eye markings, feeds exclusively on

prairie dogs, and was thought to have

gone extinct decades ago when ranchers

shot and poisoned off its favorite meal.

But after a ranch dog found (and killed)

one of the ferrets in Wyoming in 1981,

scientists gathered the remaining critters

and launched a captive-breeding pro-

gram. That has been a success, reports

the Associated Press, but

the ferrets it has produced

are so closely related

and genetically similar

that they could easily be

wiped out by a parasite or

disease. The ferret cloned

to produce Elizabeth Ann

isn’t related to that popu-

lation, so Elizabeth Ann

and future clones can potentially be used

to reduce the population’s vulnerability.

“Conservation needs more tools in the

toolbox,” says Ryan Phelan, co-founder

of the biotech firm Revive & Restore,

which helped create Elizabeth Ann.

“Cloning is just one of the tools.”

Elizabeth Ann: Genetic savior?

Endangered species cloned